{"id":7744,"date":"2013-10-09T18:53:42","date_gmt":"2013-10-09T18:53:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/?p=7744"},"modified":"2013-10-14T23:59:06","modified_gmt":"2013-10-14T23:59:06","slug":"six-rules-for-spotting-great-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/six-rules-for-spotting-great-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Six rules for spotting great art"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buying art can be a great investment as well as intrinsically rewarding. Choose wisely, says Sarah Ryan of New Blood Art. – Originally published in MoneyWeek<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

To find new \u2013 and potentially great \u2013 artists, you need to start at the art schools. Artists, of course, have innate talent. But really good art comes from those who have also been rigorously trained.<\/p>\n

An artist needs a thorough grounding in research, and idea development. They also need strong technical skills if they want to define their own \u2018voice\u2019 and communicate with their audience. The quality of training varies; drawing is no longer seen as a must at some British art schools, and many place a heavier emphasis on conceptual aspects \u2013 the developing of ideas above the developing of technical skills and observation. The best offer a good balance of the two.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also worth considering the artist\u2019s personality. Creativity is the life force of true artists \u2013 it is the only way they find meaning in the world. It also means they need to be self-aware, and make an effort to find an environment that brings out the best in them. Being a deep thinker with highly attuned senses can be overwhelming in a culture that celebrates the extrovert.<\/p>\n

This is why artists often live near to each other \u2013 it gives them the peace they need to access their depths, express themselves and make their work. If you see a piece of good art \u2013 something technically skilled but also expressing an idea in a different way \u2013 you tend to have a visceral response. It should lead you, too, to feel deeply. When I look at work, I watch for the feelings that arise within me. To me, these are the indicator of true art.<\/p>\n

Long-term price appreciation, as ever, comes down to supply and demand. Plenty of artists produce work with mass appeal. They may enjoy a steady stream of income and lots of buyers but, in general, I don\u2019t believe their prices will see the phenomenal gains that artists with stand-out talent will. Nor will such mainstream names become significant in the art world. Decorative artists make pieces that look nice on walls. Great artists reach into their depths, and express ideas with great technical skill, unique vision and passion. There\u2019s a difference.<\/p>\n

I visit as many degree shows as I can each year. I now feel I just know when I\u2019m standing before something outstanding. These are works I don\u2019t forget \u2013 they pop back into my head and leave a mark on me. How can you recognise these, beyond that feeling? Here are six pointers.<\/p>\n

An identifiable style:<\/b> Artists with an identifiable style have found a way of handling paint, approaching their subject, or working with themes that are specific to them. But I also like to see evolution over time \u2013 it makes sense for an artist to experiment in different areas while keeping a stylistic thread running through their work. Art tutors push this kind of development at college. We need to see that the artist can keep it going.<\/p>\n

A sophisticated technique:<\/b> You need to see depth in the work. It\u2019s fine \u2013 good even \u2013 for the artist to reference other artists, but very much as re-invention within their own unique identifiable style. New and different is amazing \u2013 if rare.<\/p>\n

Quality of materials:<\/b> Don\u2019t underestimate the importance of quality stretchers, canvas and paints. Using expensive, high-quality materials demonstrates a certain commitment and integrity. Often the best emerging artists make their own stretchers and carefully select the linen or canvas, and their work starts there. Some paints also have much better archival properties than others, and really good quality paints have high pigment content \u2013 works made with these will still be vibrant in decades to come. Serious art collections don\u2019t come with cheap canvas.<\/p>\n

Commitment:<\/b> You don\u2019t want a flash in the pan. How committed and passionate is the artist? How likely are they to be making work in ten years? Are they applying for prizes, arts funding, residencies, competitions? It\u2019s vital that they are committed to raising their profile \u2013 all of this indicates an artist is likely to continue to drive their practice forward.<\/p>\n

Professionalism:<\/b> Some artists get so emotionally attached to work that they can\u2019t easily let it go. This keeps them small. Long-term artists make and sell.<\/p>\n

The enthusiasm of experts:<\/b> College tutors have an inside line to the artists on their courses. I always relish the chance to tour a studio or art show with a college tutor and listen to their opinion on artists.<\/p>\n

Buying online<\/b><\/p>\n

The art world is largely unregulated and anyone can set up an online gallery \u2013 so buyer beware! Before you even look at pictures, make sure there is a sound return policy. Then look to see if the site has any connections to the artist. Artists write their own statements online, but has the gallery added anything useful? This may distinguish galleries that carefully select work from those that are just providing a platform and cashing in.<\/p>\n

The main reason to buy online is because it\u2019s the only viable way of representing young artists, and introducing their high-quality, original, affordable art to the public. There are lots of emerging artists who are unable to navigate the transition from art college to gallery representation, and so never get off the ground. This changes that. Not only do you get a beautiful piece of work for (in some cases) the same price as a reproduced image, you are backing developing young artists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Buying art can be a great investment as well as intrinsically rewarding. Choose wisely, says Sarah Ryan of New Blood Art. – Originally published in MoneyWeek To find new \u2013 and potentially great \u2013 artists, you need to start at the art schools. Artists, of course, have innate talent. But really good art comes from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7809,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[264,263],"class_list":["post-7744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-collecting-art","tag-curating-art"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7744"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7746,"href":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7744\/revisions\/7746"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}